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Charlotte track working on extension with Lowe's on naming rights
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Thursday, May 15, 2008
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Lowe’s and Speedway Motorsports Inc. are negotiating a deal to keep the home-improvement chain as the naming-rights holder of the track in Concord, N.C., SMI President H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler said Wednesday.
Lowe’s took over the naming rights in 1999 as part of a 10-year deal worth $35 million.
“We’re talking to them now, and so far, everything is going well,” said Wheeler, who also serves as president of Lowe's Motor Speedway. “I think they have been very happy with us. Certainly they have been a great sponsor to have. … I’d say we’re fairly close, but you never know in negotiations like these things.
“It’s not over until it’s over. But I think it looks pretty good.”
SMI has sold the naming rights to its road course in Sonoma, Calif. (Infineon Raceway) but has not sold naming rights to Bristol, Atlanta, New Hampshire, Las Vegas and Texas.
Only three tracks on the Cup circuit (Charlotte, Sonoma and California) have sold naming rights.
“Obviously you want an increase in what we’ve got now,” Wheeler said about the financial aspect of the deal. “Looking back, if you look at the price of naming rights, how much naming rights have gone up at different venues since we signed the Lowe’s deal – at the same time, you don’t want to gouge your sponsors that you have.
“You’ll do less to keep a sponsor than getting say 25 percent more for a new one. Now if it’s 50 percent, then that would be a different ball game. I just don’t like changing sponsors, and you don’t see many sponsor changes in Charlotte.”
Obviously with the deal ending after 2008, if Lowe’s is not going to renew, SMI would want to begin negotiations for a replacement.
“Right now, you don’t want to have to do that – you don’t want to change names of tracks,” Wheeler said.
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